the firm builds facilities for the u.s. military. two afghan workers were killed, and more than a dozen others were wounded. the taliban claimed responsibility. and in the east, villagers held funerals for nine young girls who died in an explosion in nangarhar province. police said they may have triggered a land mine left over from the time of the soviet invasion. meanwhile, in northwest pakistan, a car bomb in a crowded market killed 17 people and wounded more than 40. the blast left a scene of scorched wreckage. in syria, the vice president now is warning that neither side will win the battle for control of the country. farouk al-sharaa is a longtime ally of president bashar al- assad's family. in an interview, he called for a national unity government with "broad powers." meanwhile, the violence raged on. rebel fighters claimed they captured an army infantry college near the northern city of aleppo. president obama and house speaker john boehner met today, amid signs of possible movement in the "fiscal cliff" negotiations. it was